Hear the Angels Sing
by RunFarAwayWithMe
Summary: Bechloe: Beca comes to Barden but doesn't have much time for a social life, especially with a two year old daughter to look after. That's why joining the Bellas becomes such a welcome relief, because it gives her moments to enjoy herself and she meets the bubbly redhead Chloe. The two girls come together and endure storms as a doctor discovers something about her daughter.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: I've had this idea for a while, so I'm glad I've finally been able to put it together. In January I have exams, so I may be occupied for a week or two, but my new year's resolution is to update more frequently. Chapters may be of varying length, so I apologise if they seem short at times, but I figure it's better to update a little than not update at all! I hope you enjoy this story, and please rate and review because if I see that people are reviewing I know that there's an interest, and so I'm more inclined to update.  
Finally, I hope you all had a merry Christmas and have a happy new year! Jen x**

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The first time that Beca noticed something wrong with her daughters hearing, she was telling her to watch out for the table. Despite her calling out several times for the little girl to stop running, she kept moving as fast as her tiny legs would carry her and went head first into the table. One hospital trip, three stitches, and many tears later, Beca was sat on the sofa consoling her two and a half year old daughter with a candy bar and her favourite teddy bear. She remembered how whenever she was hurt her mom would sit her on her lap and put on a Disney film to distract her, but that was all in the past. Everything had changed now.

For one thing, Beca didn't need her mom to console her for anything now. Also, she wasn't able to put on a Disney film for her daughter as they didn't have a TV. They were lucky enough to have a roof over their heads to be honest, especially after Mrs Mitchell had thrown her only daughter out onto the streets when she found out that her sixteen year old was pregnant. Her parents had been divorced for many years now, but even her dad wouldn't let his daughter and bastard grandchild stay in his house with his new family. The best he could offer was free accommodation on the campus of Barden University when Beca turned eighteen, provided that she agreed to study what he wanted.

At the end of the day, she was getting an education for free and she could live somewhere warm with her daughter. It was a drastic improvement from sleeping on friend's sofa with a new-born baby for the past two years, although there was barely any room for them with the child's bed squeezed in next to Beca's own bed and her work desk. It was the first week of college and her daughter had run head first into that desk, something that Beca saw as a bad sign. It raised a few questions in her mind about her hearing, but a knock at the door postponed her worries for a few minutes.

"Campus police, hide your wine coolers!" After the incredibly lame joke, her father's head poked around the door and saw his daughter sitting with an upset toddler on her lap. Choosing to ignore it and not get too involved, he merely handed Beca her timetable for her Philosophy classes and didn't look at the young infant once. "Anyway… I hope you both settle in okay," he said with a sharp nod, not caring that Beca hadn't spoken one word to him, instead just letting him ramble on about the importance of education.

By the time he left, Beca noticed the little girl on her lap had stopped snivelling and had turned her attention to the small dreadlock on the left side of her momma's hair. It was the only one that she had, but she liked to keep it, even if just for the amusement of her daughter. There had been a couple of incidences before that had raised Beca's suspicion about the young girl's hearing, but she'd passed it off as a stubborn toddler choosing not to listen to her mom. This time however, there was something different. The way that she didn't even flinch at Beca's voice wasn't normal, so she waited until her daughter was completely fixated on her hair and then clicked behind the toddler's head.

She didn't move. Wanting to try something bigger, she reluctantly moved the young girl onto the floor with her toy and made sure she couldn't see Beca. Then, she clicked. Nothing. She shouted. Nothing. She clapped loudly, and her daughter turned around. There – she could hear, Beca thought. She was just being a paranoid mother. But then she noticed her shadow on the floor right where her daughter was playing, and her heart sank again. She had merely seen her shadow move on the floor and turned round to see what she was doing.

At a loss of what to do, she rang the doctor and booked an appointment for two days time. How had she not noticed this before? As Beca buckled the young girl into her pram, she went over the past two years in her head. She had always kept her daughter close to her chest, always made sure that they could both see each other, and she usually used her hands to direct what she wanted as she said it. Trying to convince herself that this must just be a phase, it's just a small ear infection that can be cured with a few sterile drops, Beca pushed the pram out the door and took her daughter for a walk across campus.

The activities fair was running, but Beca tried her best to avoid it. She didn't think that it left people with the best impression if she walked with a toddler through the first day of college – everyone always seemed to assume the worst. Not really wanting to handle all the questions, she wandered out of the campus and went up the street to scope out the local grocery store. Thankfully there was a Walmart only about a ten minute walk away, and she'd be able to buy all her supplies from there.

On her way back she lost track completely of where she was going, and ended up driving the pram straight into a person. "Sorry," she began to apologise whilst containing her anger at the other person for not moving out the way, but her voice soon quietened when she saw her victim. A tall redhead stood in front of her and quickly brushed off the mark left behind on her shin. "It's no problem," she said with a radiant smile. "Hey little one," she began cooing at the little girl in the pram, who was currently finding the crash hilarious.

Beca prepared herself for the question of, "Is she yours?" but instead she was met with a leaflet being shoved into her hand. "You do go to Barden, don't you?" the redhead asked.  
"Err sure, but I don't really have much free time on my hands," Beca said, gesturing towards the pram. She didn't feel resentment at all that her daughter took up a lot of her time, but she knew that other people sometimes found it hard to understand. "I know you've got a lot on your plate, but this might do you good to get out for a bit? And I'm sure we might be able to come to some arrangement if you want to bring the little one along?"

The stranger was being strangely kind, something that Beca wasn't used to. It was refreshing, so she found herself accepting the flyer and agreeing to consider it. "I'm Chloe, by the way."  
"Beca."  
"So what are you doing at Barden, Beca?"  
"Philosophy. Not my choice, but my dad is one of the lecturers here and can get me access to free accommodation and education. I wouldn't have accepted if I realised that every move I made would be on his terms…"  
"Philosophy's not so bad. I'm studying medicine, but my roommate majors in philosophy," Chloe said with a hint of pride in her voice.  
"I'm still not so sure… Anyway, I better get home. It was nice meeting you though."  
"See you at auditions!" Chloe said before bouncing off.

On hearing the word "auditions", Beca actually looked at the flyer in her hand. It was for the Barden Bellas, an all-girls acapella singing group for the university. Singing was totally her thing, but being in an all-girls group wasn't. Her previous school had been girls only, and so she knew the bitchiness that went on when there was no testosterone to break the tension. Nevertheless, she tucked the piece of paper in her back pocket and took the long, quiet route back to her dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Beca's third day at Barden and life was already getting busy. She had to go to the doctors in the afternoon with her daughter, but before that she was actually considering going to audition for the Bellas, on the assumption that the bouncy redhead would be there. She was all dressed and ready to leave, but there was a slight problem of a two year old sitting on her bed in strop refusing to put her shoes on. "Come on," she urged the stubborn young girl, but she merely sat that with an adorable pout on her lips.

If she wanted to make it to auditions at all they had to leave right away, and even then she would be late. Her dad had told her about a nursery on campus, but Beca wasn't ready for that yet. She knew eventually she'd have to enrol her daughter so that she could attend her classes, but she wasn't willing to let go until it was absolutely necessary. Besides, Chloe had said that they could probably come to some arrangement if Beca was to turn up, so she wasn't particularly worried about arriving with her daughter on her hip.

Five minutes passed and Beca gave up on shoes altogether. The young girl was dressed in a burgundy dress with black tights but had some aversion to wearing her black shoes as well, so in a frustrated haste Beca picked the toddler up with one arm, shoved the tiny shoes into her bag and carried that with the other arm. Luckily the auditorium was only a five minute walk away, although the extra weight on her hip slowed things down a bit. Eventually she burst through the side door and heard a guy already mid-song.

Praying that her daughter would stay quiet at least for the duration of the song, she crept round to backstage and was met with a boy named Justin. "You're not on the list," he said looking very irritated. "No, I know… Chloe asked me to come? The girl with red hair?"  
"Yes, yes I know who Chloe is. I tell you – these Bellas can't keep doing this. It is my job to run these things. Just because I can't sing doesn't mean I can't organise the auditions. They have _no right_ to invite whoever they want! I have a system in place…"

Letting Justin continue his little rant, Beca walked past him once the guy on stage had finished his song and it sounded as though everyone was starting to pack up. She poked her head around the curtain on stage right and luckily Chloe noticed her. "Oh wait, there's one more!" she called out, and everyone resumed their seats.  
"Sorry…" Beca said bashfully, and walked out on stage very aware that everyone was looking at her daughter, wondering what the story was.

"I couldn't leave her behind…" she began, but Chloe was already up on her feet and jumping up onto the stage. "That's okay, I can take her for a minute," the redhead said, and Beca was surprised at how willingly the toddler went with her. She passed Chloe her bag as well which contained various toys in case the little one started to get restless, and smiled thankfully as she stood centre stage. "I didn't know I had to prepare that song," Beca said, conscious that she really wasn't giving off the best impression.

"That's okay, sing anything you want," Chloe said distractedly whilst placing the toddler on her knee, and the blonde sitting next to her looked a little put out of place. "May I?" Beca asked as she leant forwards and took a cup from their table. She sat on the floor with her legs crossed and smiled, knowing that her daughter would like this. She began to clap with the cup and create a beat with it and started singing, and she glanced up quickly to see the glee on her daughters face as she watched her move the cup around.

When she had finished, she looked up anxiously at everyone in the auditorium, searching their faces for any hope of approval. "That was amazing," Chloe said with a wide smile on her face. "Yes… We'll be in touch," the blonde next to her muttered with an expression that was hard to read. Everyone began filing out of the theatre but Chloe lingered behind, waiting to reunite mother and daughter. She walked to the stage and sat up on the edge of it with the little girl next to her, and Beca came to join them.

As she let her legs hang down the front of the stage next to her daughter, Beca noticed that she was now somehow wearing her shoes. "You got her to put her shoes on?" she asked the redhead, who then smiled and nodded. "I grew up with three younger siblings and my mum wasn't always well enough to look after them, so I'm pretty good with kids." Beca looked in awe at the other girl then down at her daughter, who was fascinated with a butterfly hairclip in her hands. "What's her name?" Chloe asked.

"Darcey," Beca said proudly, but she watched her daughter intently hoping that she would look up at the sound of her name. She didn't. "You okay?" Chloe asked, noticing the sad smile that had appeared on the brunette's face. "I'm fine," Beca replied unconvincingly. "I'm just worried that's all… I'm taking her to the doctors this afternoon, I think there's something up with her hearing."  
"It could just be an infection? I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."  
"That's what I'm hoping, but it seems like there's something else. I don't know… I guess I'll find out soon enough."

The two of them sat there for a while watching the young girl play with the butterfly, but eventually Beca said, "I should probably go. I want to get some lunch before we go to the doctors so that she isn't too grumpy."  
"That makes sense. Here, take my number so you can text me how you get on at the doctors. And if you ever need a babysitter or even a coffee, then I can always make time for you."  
"Thanks," Beca replied as Chloe slid off the stage and waved goodbye. There was something about the way she said "I can always make time for you" that made Beca smile. No one had really flirted with her in a while so she wasn't too sure what it felt like, but this seemed pretty close.

"Come on then minx, let's get some food," she said as she picked up her daughter, wondering if her voice was actually being heard.


	3. Chapter 3

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" Beca asked with a pissed off tone as she adjusted her daughter on her knee. The doctor leant forwards on her desk and tilted her chin down to look over her glasses at Beca before saying, "Well in a child her age I initially assumed a middle ear infection, glue ear, or possibly even otosclerosis, but after performing a brief hearing test and examining her, I'd like to refer you to a specialist."  
"A specialist? Look, I'm a student and I really don't have much money. Can't you just give her some antibiotics or a shot or something and let us go?"  
"If you'd been listening to me you'd understand that this cannot be solved by a shot or some medicine. I will refer you to a specialist, who will further investigate the problem and maybe they will fit Darcey with a hearing aid or suggest surgery, but that is all the help I can give you. What I'm wondering is why it has been left this long. Surely you must have noticed that a two year old should be speaking more by now?"

"Look, I know that I should have noticed this before but situations haven't exactly been ideal for us. If you could just tell me exactly what's wrong with her and what I can do, please."  
"You need to understand that Darcey is deaf. The specialist will help you both adjust to this and set up programmes in place."  
Actually hearing the word "deaf" threw Beca off. Despite knowing deep down that something was wrong, she had still clung onto the hope that it could be cured. "Wh-what could have caused it?"  
"There's a multitude of things. Vaccinations during pregnancy, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexually transmitted diseases…"

Beca really didn't like the woman's tone or what she was insinuating, and so put Darcey back into her pram as she said, "I'll take the number of that specialist, then we'll be going." The doctor clicked her pen against the desk to write down the name and phone number which Beca took from her and mumbled "thank you" as she shoved it in her purse. It felt as though she held her breath for the whole time they were in the building, and as she wheeled her daughter out of the front doors she finally took a deep breath and took out her phone to dial the most recently added number. "Chloe?"  
"Hi! How did the doctors go?"  
"Not good… Well, they've referred us to someone else, but it's kind of a long story. Are you free tomorrow? We could go for a coffee somewhere."  
"Sure! What dorm are you in? I'll swing by about ten and we can go to this really cute place on the high street."  
"Baker Hall. First floor, room 106."  
"Great. See you then!"

The promise of a coffee tomorrow made the bad news slightly easier to take, and as they walked back home Beca tried to focus more on that than the last half hour at the doctors. It wasn't until they were back in the dorm and Darcey was sat comfortably on her bed with a book that Beca actually attempted looking up some of the long, technical words that the doctor had thrown at her. Hours passed as she sat at her laptop, but eventually she had to get dinner ready for her daughter and played with her for a while before bedtime. Exhausted, she lay down in bed but as she expected, she didn't get much sleep.

The next day was tough, but with a young daughter she was used to working without much sleep. It was a bit before ten when there was a knock on the door and Beca opened it without looking who it was before turning back to Darcey, who had decided that she was morally opposed to sitting in the buggy that day. Chloe invited herself in and shut the door behind her, waiting patiently and trying not to laugh at the mother and daughter grappling over the buggy. "I don't mind carrying her if you want to push the stroller?" Chloe offered.

Beca wasn't used to receiving help, especially not when it came to her daughter, so she had feelings of both pleasant surprise and cautious relief when Chloe offered to help. Before long they were at the café with their orders and took a seat next to the window. They worked their way through general small talk before approaching the topic of the doctor's appointment, and Chloe took a sip from her hot chocolate before asking, "Do you want to talk about what happened at the doctor's yesterday?" Beca sat for a moment, adjusting Darcey's jacket as a brief displacement activity before finally reliving the previous day.

"She referred us to a specialist, but I don't know… I can't afford any medical bills for stuff like that."  
"Why don't you ask your parents if they can help?" Chloe suggested, but Beca scoffed.  
"My parents and I don't exactly get on." She raised her hands to her forehead and stared at her knees. "I can't believe this. All I want is the best for her and I can't provide it."  
"Forget about the money for a minute. There are always bursaries and funds somewhere, so for now let's see what the doctor actually recommended. Who did she refer you to?"  
"This is his contact number," Beca said, retrieving the piece of paper the doctor gave her from her purse.

"No way," the redhead muttered with a gleeful smirk as she glanced at the name.  
"What? Is that a good 'no way' or a bad 'no way'?" Beca asked anxiously.  
"You're shitting me right? This guy is my mentor. I'm specialising in paediatrics in my medical degree – more specifically I want to go into speech and language therapy for children, and this guy Doctor Lange is my mentor."  
"Is he good? Do you think he can help Darcey?"  
"I'd bet money on it. He could probably help her develop her speech, begin her on a sign language programme, look into the possibility of hearing aids."

It was a lot to take in. Doctor Lange sounded like an amazing opportunity especially if he came highly recommended by Chloe, but the matter of the situation was that Beca couldn't afford treatment like that for her daughter. "How did this happen?" she asked, more to herself than anyone else, but Chloe took the question literally. "Did the doctor yesterday explain to you some things that could have caused it?" Beca laughed sarcastically and lifted her head to face Chloe once again. "Yeah, she insinuated that I'm an alcoholic crack head with an STD. Either that or…" A look of complete dread appeared on her face.

"What? What did she say?"  
"Oh my god…" The colour completely drained from Beca's cheeks when she remembered the fourth option the doctor briefly suggested. "What?!" Chloe asked desperately, reaching out to put her hand on Beca's arm. "It's all my fault…" Beca mumbled so quietly that Chloe only just heard it. The brunette scooped her daughter up into her arms and kept whispering into her ear, "I'm so sorry baby… I'm so sorry…"


	4. Chapter 4

Noticing how obviously upset Beca was, Chloe suggested that they went back to her place where things would be more private. Beca seemed to be in a bit of a daze as she kept rocking Darcey in her arms, but she nodded and stood up to leave. Chloe pushed the pram this time and led them back to her apartment, which was thankfully only a short distance outside campus and a matter of minutes away from the café. They took the lift up to the third floor because of the pram, and soon they were inside Chloe's cosy apartment. "Do you live here on your own?" Beca asked.  
"Yep. I moved out of dorms after my first year; I studied late and usually had girls over on the weekend, which my roommate wasn't too happy about. Here's a bit more expensive but at least it's bigger, I can work as late as I want and my sex life doesn't interrupt with anyone else."

It wasn't long before Beca made the connection between the girls over on the weekend and Chloe's sex life, and before she knew what she was saying she blurted out, "Oh so you're a lezza."  
"A lezza?" Chloe asked, unable to stop herself from laughing. She was happy that she'd managed to distract Beca from whatever she was worrying about in the restaurant, even if it was at the expense of her sexuality. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean for that to be offensive… I swear I'm not homophobic or anything. Even I wouldn't say no if the right girl came along to change my mind…" Beca was bright red and in Chloe's opinion, very cute when she babbled on like this.

"It's okay, honestly. It just took me by surprise a bit. People aren't usually so… blasé about it," Chloe explained warmly. They were interrupted by Darcey making a noise and struggling to be released from her mother's grip, and Beca realised that she had been holding her tight since the café. "Sorry sweetie…" she said, meaning it for more than just imprisoning her for the past ten minutes. She placed a kiss on the top of her head of beautiful brown curls and lowered her onto the floor before sitting on the sofa.

Chloe tentatively lowered herself next to Beca and watched her as she observed her daughter closely. "Do you want to talk about what happened back there?" she said, and for a while she thought that Beca was ignoring her. It was only when Beca turned to face Chloe a minute later that she noticed the tears gathering in Beca's cobalt eyes as she whispered, "It's all my fault."  
"How?" Chloe asked, reaching out and holding Beca's hand. "How the hell can it be your fault?"

Beca gripped tightly onto Chloe's hand, feeling the words stuck in her throat as she turned to watch her beautiful, beautiful daughter play. It was still hard to see her as deaf. It was hard to accept that Darcey would possibly never hear her voice. Tears spilled down her cheeks in quick succession as she began to explain: "When I was sixteen… I had to have a vaccination. I can't remember what for… I think it was cervical cancer or something – just one of those that school recommends you get as a precaution. I w-went with my mom, and the doctor asked me if I was sexually active… if there was a chance I could pregnant… and I was having sex by then, but I couldn't admit that in front of my mom. I thought it wouldn't matter, that it was just one of those questions doctors ask, so I said no, and he gave me the injection. A few days later I found out I was pregnant… I never connected the two until now, but the… the doctor yesterday said…"

By that point Beca was sobbing and she couldn't finish the sentence, but Chloe had already figured out the rest of it. She used her free hand to pull Beca into a hug and let the girl sob into her chest; her tears spilling onto Chloe's shirt while her body shook in her arms. Thankfully Darcey had her back turned to them at that moment, so she didn't notice her mom crying like that. Chloe waited until Beca calmed down a bit before making circles with her palm on the smaller girl's back and saying, "It's not your fault. You weren't to know that you were pregnant, how could you?"

"I sh-should have said something," Beca mumbled into Chloe's shirt before pulling away slowly, still keeping slight contact between the two of them. "Ugh I'm sorry… I must look a mess," she said, wiping her tear stained face with her hands.  
"A bit red and blotchy maybe, but not quite a mess," Chloe said jokingly, reaching up to wipe a stray tear away with her thumb. She waited a few more moments before saying, "You should call Doctor Lange. Book an appointment for Darcey, get this all sorted."  
"I can't," Beca began to protest, but Chloe interrupted her.

"I can talk to him about the money. I'll find out what financial support there is for students, there must be something in place."  
Beca smiled graciously, cursing the tears that began forming in her eyes again and said, "Thank you."  
"What are friends for, right?"  
"I can't believe I've only known you a short time… It feels like I've known you forever."  
"I know… and I really like you, Beca. You and Darcey, you're both pretty amazing girls. And I promise that I'll help you with whatever Doctor Lange suggests."

"What do you think he will suggest?" Beca asked nervously, still trying to add up figures in her head despite what Chloe said about financial support.  
"I'm no expert, but he'll probably see if a hearing aid is suitable for Darcey. Also, I'm pretty sure he'll enrol you somewhere for American Sign Language so you can bring Darcey up learning it."  
"There's no way I can afford sign language classes, even with support."  
"In special cases like yours there are places that offer it for free. Plus, I'd be able to help you learn it," Chloe said with a slightly proud smile.  
"You know sign language?"

Chloe nodded. "Before I left high school I found a night school where I could learn it. I had to pay because I'm not deaf and I don't have a deaf child, but I knew back then it's what I wanted to do."  
"Wow… That's pretty cool. I just don't know if I'll have time for extra classes. I'm a full time mom and still have to somehow attend my philosophy classes."  
"Haven't you enrolled her in the nursery?"  
Beca looked sheepishly into her lap and shook her head.

"You're scared to let her go?" Chloe asked, and Beca nodded. "Well, would it comfort you to know that I work there? Not all the time I mean, but because I'm specialising in paediatrics I take some shifts at the nursery. If I pulled some strings with Doctor Lange I'm sure I could be assigned to Darcey, given her circumstances and everything. I'm the only one in my class with an extensive knowledge of sign language, and I could say that I've already formed a bond with her so we wouldn't have to worry about her rejecting help."  
"That would be amazing…" Beca said, reaching out to hold Chloe's hand again just to check that she was real.

"I'm still scared about enrolling her. In the past two years we've never been apart."  
"I know it'll be an adjustment, but it'll help with your studies and she'll be able to socialise more with children her own age."  
"Will she be able to do that though?" Beca asked nervously, worried about her daughter being excluded from other children that could hear.  
"Of course!" Chloe replied. "Children adjust better than you think. The other kids will eventually understand that Darcey likes to look at books rather than hear music, and once she begins to learn a bit of sign language I'll be able to help translate when they want to talk to her."

Beca glanced over at her daughter who was happily playing with one of her toys from the pram. "Do you know what, Chloe?"  
"What?"  
"Maybe, in time, it might all just be okay."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry for the late update. January was full of exams and coursework deadlines etc. so I'm glad to finally get back to writing and I hope the length of this chapter is a nice peace offering. **

**Please keep reviewing - I can't tell you how much it helps me to know your opinions on the chapters. **

**Also, I need to ask for some help from any readers in America. I'm from England so I don't know much about the structure of university/college life in the US, so if you think you'd be able to help and answer some questions I have about it then please message me! Thank you x**

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"Come in!" Beca called out to the knock at the door, and soon Chloe appeared in the room with a tray of drinks in one hand and a bag of Starbucks lunch in the other. "I figured you could use some lunch? I know you text me saying you were busy with homework, so I thought I'd make life easier."  
"Mm you're amazing, I'm starving."  
"When's your next class?"  
"This afternoon," Beca replied, hoping Chloe wouldn't pick up on the fact that she wasn't planning on going. She was supposed to have had two classes so far, but both times she couldn't find the courage to leave Darcey.

They sat on the bed for a few moments as Chloe gave her a chai tea latte, and then poured a berry juice into Darcey's cup. "So, if you're going to class this afternoon," Chloe began with a suspicious tone, "What's Darcey still doing here?" Beca turned her eyes to the floor and looked bashful as she shifted on the mattress. "I thought you were going to enrol her in nursery?" Chloe prompted again.  
"I meant to, I just haven't got round to it yet. But you know, it's fine, I wasn't planning on going to class this afternoon anyway. I can catch up on the work later."  
"Beca," Chloe said scornfully, "You have to enrol her. It's run by volunteers and college students so it's free! What have you got to lose? Also, it's important that you have time to focus on your school work and even more important that she learns to interact with other children her own age."

"I know, but what if they pick on her? What if she doesn't like it? Wh-what if the fire bell goes off and she's stuck because she can't hear it or she falls on something sharp because she can't hear the teacher telling her to stop or the-"  
"Beca, stop." Chloe took hold of Beca's hand as she watched the girl get more and more distressed. "I promise you, Darcey will be fine. I have already spoken to Doctor Lange and he's perfectly fine with me changing my shifts at the nursery to work with Darcey. And I've spoken a bit about you and he's really anxious to meet you. You need to realise that all of this is going to _help_."

Beca's glanced over at her daughter and then back at Chloe as she whispered, "What if I can't fix this?"  
"You can't," Chloe said, "You can't fix the fact that Darcey is deaf but you can help yourself and her. How about I come with you to the nursery this afternoon? The staff already know me there and they know I'm changing shifts, and if we leave early enough I can show you around a bit."  
"That would be good… Thank you." Beca leant forwards and wrapped her arms around Chloe. It wasn't a gesture she frequently used, but hugging Chloe seemed like the right thing to do, and she really was grateful for the help.

Chloe allowed herself to be pulled into the hug and rubbed her hands on Beca's back briefly as she found her senses become intoxicated with the younger girl. As they pulled away, she could have sworn there was a brief moment that they lingered in front of one another, as though their eyes were drawn to each other by an inexplicable force. The moment must have lasted less than two seconds as Darcey then knocked over her cup, creating a disturbance on the floor. "Darcey, you need to be more careful," Beca tutted as she quickly found a cloth to wipe up the mess. "Although how would you know," she muttered, but it was loud enough for Chloe to hear, "You don't even know what I'm saying."

It was the first time that she had taken a bitter attitude towards the situation. So far she had been angry at herself or upset or worried, but this was the first time she had taken this perspective on it. "She understands you though," Chloe said comfortingly.  
"Chloe, you don't have to patronise me. I know she can't hear me. I know it's pointless."  
"I didn't say she could hear you, and I'm not patronising you. Darcey can tell when you're cross with her, and she can tell when you're happy with her without hearing what words you have to say. You already tell her so much within your face. That's also the first thing you need to know about sign language – it relies a lot on facial expression. Whereas we use our tone of voice to convey how we feel about something, when people sign they have to show how they feel through their face."

"I never thought of it like that… Ugh I'm sorry… I'm just constantly scared for her and I don't feel like I can relax."  
"I know. That's why it's important that we enrol her in nursery as soon as possible. That's also why it's important that you eat the lunch I brought you and drink your tea."

Beca smirked and agreed, so she tucked her legs beneath her as they sat on the bed with Darcey in between them as they ate lunch. The little girl had already eaten, because as usual Beca had made sure that her needs were seen to before her own. That's why it was so strange to have Chloe around, bringing her lunch and telling her that everything would be okay. It had always been just her and Darcey, even when she was pregnant, so she wasn't used to having someone else there to look out for her.

Once they had finished eating, Chloe suggested that they head off to the nursery to have a look around. It took some time to get Darcey into her coat and strap up her shoes, but eventually they were ready to go. Thankfully it was only a short walk, which comforted Beca to know that if anything bad did happen, she'd be able to run there from class within a matter of minutes. They had to walk slow as Beca didn't bring the pram, so Darcey was walking by her side and holding tightly onto her hand. "And you sure you'll be there the whole time?" Beca asked nervously as they turned onto a new path.

"I promise I won't take my eyes off her. Seeing as it's your first time letting her go, why don't you come by to pick her up at the end of your class? Maybe next week you can start leaving her for the whole morning or afternoon session, but for now we'll just stick with a couple of hours."  
"That'd be good. Thank you, Chloe."  
"It's no big deal."  
"Yes, it is. I really mean it, I don't know how the hell I'd be doing any of this without you," Beca said, looking intently at the redhead.

"I'm sure you'd be doing just fine. After all, you've raised her on your own for the past two years perfectly well," Chloe replied with a smile. She'd been wondering for a while now what the story was between Beca and her parents, and whoever Darcey's father was that had left a sixteen year old girl out of a stable home and forced to raise a baby all by herself, but she figured if Beca wanted to tell her then she would do so in her own time.

"Okay, we're here," she announced as they approached a small, colourful building with children's drawings on display in the windows. "Are you okay?" she asked Beca, who nodded unconvincingly but replied, "Yep. Let's do this."

Chloe walked in first holding the door open for the two girls behind her, and showed Beca where Darcey could hang her coat up. Once the young girl had worked her arms out of the sleeves and balanced the coat on a peg, they moved into a larger room that was full of toys, colourful mats, sensory equipment, and had a small table in the far corner surrounded by tiny chairs. "This is where Darcey will have her snack," Chloe explained, pointing out each area as she went, "This is where she'll do any messy work like painting, over here is the skills area with balance beams and stuff like that, and then that section there is where I'll be doing any one-to-one work with her." She gave Beca a moment to take it all in and then asked, "So, what do you think?"  
"It's… incredible."

Beca looked at her daughters face for any hint of approval, and the way Darcey's eyes were lit up as they tried so hard to look around as much of the room and take everything in was enough to melt Beca's heart. Darcey had never had the opportunity to be in an environment like this before, which Beca felt slightly guilty for but the main thing was that she had the opportunity to be there now. She felt her daughter pull on her hand and try to wiggle free in order to explore, so Beca looked at Chloe for approval. "Sure, go ahead. While she explores I'll introduce you to Helen, who runs the nursery."

As soon as Beca released Darcey's hand, she was instantly drawn to a soft-play mat covered in sensory toys with colourful lights. Right on cue, an older woman wearing a paint-covered apron walked into the nursery and smiled at them both. "Hello, Chloe dear, how are you? I wasn't expecting to see you today?"  
"I'm good thanks Helen. Yeah, my shifts are changing a bit because of a child that Doctor Lange is hoping to work with soon. This is my friend, Beca, who's Darcey's mother."

Helen shook Beca's hand on the introduction and looked over at the toddler playing on the floor. "I see she's already getting herself settled, which is great to see! I think I remember Doctor Lange mentioning something about a new child starting, he said that you'd fill me in?"  
"Sure, let me just finish up here," Chloe said, and then turned to Beca. "If you're happy, you could probably head to class now? I promise I will ring you if anything happens, and I will not leave Darcey for one minute."

She could still sense some apprehension, so she took Beca's hand and walked her round to the mat where Darcey was playing. "Okay, so if Darcey is playing here, I will play with her and get her to interact with the toys. I know she hasn't started to officially learn sign language yet, but I will use signs to support my voice when I talk to her. That way she'll soon start associating objects and actions with those signs. If she starts interacting with other children, I will let her but I promise I will never be further than this distance away. And take a look around the room." She waited until Beca looked around before continuing, "Everything here is child-proof. Every table has round edges, every cupboard is locked, and every adult here is trained in looking after tiny humans."

As Beca's eyes scanned the room, she saw that everything Chloe was saying was true. Darcey could not be in a safer environment if she tried. "Now look at me," Chloe instructed. Beca turned to face her once more and looked into Chloe's piercing blue eyes that were full of understanding and honesty. "I promise you, Darcey will be fine."  
"Okay," Beca replied, her voice barely a whisper. She bent down so she was at eye level with Darcey and kissed her on the forehead, little brown ringlets of hair being trapped between her lips and Darcey's skin. "I love you so much," Beca said firmly, "I'll be back soon, okay?"

She stood up once more and smiled gratefully at Chloe. "I'll be back soon," she repeated.  
"I know. Now go to class," Chloe replied with a wink. On her way out, Helen smiled at Beca and patted her arm comfortingly. Other children started to filter into the room as Beca walked out the door, and there was this ache in her stomach telling her to run back in there and take back her daughter, but she fought it and kept on walking. Unexpectedly tears began spilling down her cheeks, but for her sake and for Darcey's she wiped them away and jogged the rest of the way to her Philosophy class.

She focused as much as she could during the lesson, but ultimately her mind was always on her daughter. The class was two hours long and within five minutes, Beca wanted to text Chloe. She managed to resist until an entire hour was up, at which point she sent the message that had already been written fifty minutes ago. _Is everything okay? x _

Her leg bounced anxiously up and down until Chloe replied, which was thankfully only a minute later. _We're fine! _The message was accompanied by a photo of Darcey sitting in front of Chloe, who had a magic smile on her face as the toddler held up a peculiar shaped mound of pink play-dough. Beca couldn't suppress the wide grin that appeared on her face, and she moved her phone onto the desk with the image on display and kept it there for the rest of the lesson.

The second the class was dismissed, Beca leapt out of her seat without bothering to put her notes in her bag. Clutching the paper and her pen in hand, she pushed past everyone else trying to get out of class muttering the occasional, "Excuse me," and hastily headed out of the door. She didn't want to sprint back to the nursery and turn up heaving for breath, so she settled for a quick jog as she stuffed her notes into the bag on her shoulder.

When she arrived and walked into the room, Chloe tapped Darcey on the arm and pointed over to Beca. Darcey noticed her and instantly dropped the toy in her hands and leapt up, running as fast as her tiny legs would carry her into her mother's arms. "Hey baby girl!" Beca exclaimed, scooping up her energetic daughter into her arms and showering her with kisses. "Have you had fun?" she asked, moving her onto her hip. She knew that it was a great achievement to leave Darcey on her own for a while, but feeling her daughter rest her head on her chest and lie safely in her arms again, Beca felt an enormous sense of relief and familiarity. "We've had a great time," Chloe explained on behalf of herself and the toddler. "Admittedly, she did cry at first but only for a few minutes, and it is totally normal for that reaction. In fact, it's healthy and shows that she has a secure attachment to you."

Beca's heart sank for a brief moment when she heard the word "cry", but then she remembered the photo that was taken halfway through the session and she knew that Chloe was right, and they did have a good time. "I'm so glad she was okay," Beca said sincerely, "I don't know how to show you how grateful I am for this, Chloe."  
"Well, I have to finish my shift here and I'm working into the evening, so how about dinner tomorrow night? Say around, seven?"

"That sounds perfect. Although, I have to put this little one to bed at half seven, so is it okay if I cook for you? I promise not to burn anything."  
"I'd like that," Chloe replied. "You have a class tomorrow morning, right?"  
"Yeah, at eleven."  
"Okay. So I guess I'll see you and Darcey then? We can sort out the paperwork and everything when your class is finished."  
"Paperwork?"  
"Don't worry, it's just a couple of forms so that Darcey is officially enrolled in the nursery. And I'd rather do it tomorrow morning than over dinner. That way we can completely relax in the evening."  
"I'd like that," Beca replied, "And maybe when we sort out those forms, you could help me arrange an appointment with Doctor Lange?"

Chloe smiled and nodded, elated that Beca was finally accepting the help that was there and that would really help both her and Darcey. "I look forward to it."


End file.
